ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I offer a case study example of the use of visual, biographical methods in a research project about vegan animal advocacy activists (AAA). I began my doctoral research in 2010, seeking at the outset to examine the lives of vegan AAAs using visual and reflexive methods. The methodology was influenced by my personal interest in comics as well as my academic interest in the visual. Further, my own adherence to veganism and involvement in AAA provided a strong basis from which to conduct biographical research. In this chapter, I describe the methods used in this project with examples of some of the visual research materials that were produced. I begin with a brief contextual overview of animal advocacy and comics. I then discuss the research methodology, past research and some of the theoretical ideas underpinning my project through analysis of three examples of the comics created by participants in the research. The conclusion focuses on creative, practical and applied strengths and weaknesses of the research methodology.
